Fighters loyal to the internationally recognised Libyan Government of National Accord (GNA) are pictured during clashes with forces loyal to strongman Khalifa Haftar in an area south of the Libyan capital Tripoli on June 1, 2020. Libyan military strongman Khalifa Haftar's forces said they retook a district south of Tripoli, after a series of losses to pro-unity government troops. The 2011 uprising that toppled and killed longtime dictator Muammar Gaddafi plunged Libya into years of chaos, with two rival administrations and scores of militias struggling for power. Haftar, who controls much of eastern and southern Libya, launched an offensive last spring to seize Tripoli from the United Nations-recognized GNA. (AFP)

TUNIS - Libya’s warring parties have agreed to restart ceasefire talks, the United Nations (UN) mission to the country said late on Monday after weeks of intense fighting near the capital Tripoli fuelled by foreign arms.

The eastern-based Libyan National Army of Khalifa Haftar has been waging an offensive since April 2019 to seize the capital Tripoli, seat of the internationally recognized Government of National Accord

In a statement posted online, the United Nations Support Mission in Libya (UNSMIL) said it welcomed their plan to resume talks based on earlier so-called 5+5 meetings, involving five senior officers appointed by each side.

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The eastern-based Libyan National Army (LNA) of Khalifa Haftar has been waging an offensive since April 2019 to seize the capital Tripoli, seat of the internationally recognized Government of National Accord (GNA).

In recent weeks, the GNA, supported by Turkey, has driven the LNA out of several areas of the northwest and much of its foothold in the capital. However, the LNA, backed by the United Arab Emirates, Russia and Egypt, said it retook some ground on Monday.

On Monday, the LNA said that it had taken control of al-Asaba city, some 120 km west of the capital Tripoli, from the GNA forces.

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"The Libyan Arab Armed Forces have expelled the militia (Government of National Accord) from the city of al-Asaba," the LNA's information office said in a statement.

"They (Government of National Accord) couldn't resist, leaving behind them weapons and equipment, and a number of dead bodies. Two militia members have been captured," it added.

Meanwhile, the GNA forces said that they launched airstrikes on the LNA near al-Asaba, destroying a number of military vehicles.

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Two ceasefires have already been agreed this year but both shelling and fighting continued. UN envoy Ghassan Salame resigned in March and the Security Council has yet to agree on a successor, further complicating peacemaking efforts.

Foreign intervention in Libya has raised the stakes in the fighting with a flow of ever more powerful weapons. Last week, the United States said Russia had flown at least 14 fighter jets to an LNA air base in central Libya.

With Xinhua inputs